


Deep Blue, Vibrant Purple

by love_loulou



Series: Eye of the Soul: A Voltron Soulmate Au [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam (Voltron) Lives, Allura (Voltron) Lives, Angst, Back to Earth, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Mostly Canon Compliant, Soulmate AU, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Team as Family, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:27:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26481898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_loulou/pseuds/love_loulou
Summary: In a world where your right eye is your own eye colour and your left is your soulmate's, Lance McClain has always been told that his eyes are amazing: his own eye colour is a deep, ocean blue, while his soulmate's is a vibrant purple.Even though he's told that his eyes are beautiful, Keith Kogane hates his mismatched eyes. When he was younger, before his father died, he loved his eyes, because his father and his father's firefighter friends complimented them all the time and he felt special.Or, Lance and Keith are soulmates, but they're also rivals, neck in neck, and that... complicates things.
Relationships: Acxa/Veronica (Voltron), Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Allura & Keith (Voltron), Allura & Lance (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Allura/Romelle (Voltron), Coran & Keith (Voltron), Coran & Lance (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt, Lance & Shiro (Voltron), Pidge | Katie Holt & Ryner
Series: Eye of the Soul: A Voltron Soulmate Au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924105
Comments: 6
Kudos: 77





	Deep Blue, Vibrant Purple

**Author's Note:**

> ahhhh!!   
> so... klance. this one is WAY longer than adashi's, and it's because i'm more passionate about klance and i had more to work with given their history. it's not the best i've ever written, but i'm pretty proud of it (i finished a second part!!! ah! first time!!!!) (im a quitter lol)   
> so uh ya its quite the ride, and while i could have done better and there could be more, i couldn't figure out how to place it.   
> also this is the longest one shot i've ever written!!! (ive written a few that havent gone anywhere and are just sitting on my drive... rip)   
> ya i think thats everything????? alright   
> enjoy :)

In a world where your right eye is your own eye colour and your left is ur soulmate’s, Lance McClain has always been told that his eyes are amazing: his own colour is a deep, ocean blue, his soulmate’s is a vibrant purple. They are sight to behold, no one he’s met has ever seen either of those colours before. He loves both of his eyes, but the purple is his favourite because it means that his soulmate must be unique. No one could have eyes that fascinating and be boring. 

Everyone who meets him cannot help but stare and stare at his eyes, and though Lance likes that his eyes are so interesting he sometimes gets uncomfortable from all the attention. His _mamá_ always says that he’s a beautiful boy, and the rest of the world seems to agree: by the time Lance is thirteen he’s had multiple agencies ask him to model for them. But Lance doesn’t want to model. Lance wants to join the Galaxy Garrison and become a fighter pilot. 

All of his dreams come true when he’s accepted into the Garrison’s cadet program. He’s absolutely thrilled; his older sister Veronica had been accepted a few years earlier as a communications officer and was thriving. He will join her in America and learn to be a pilot. 

Lance is also excited because going to the Garrison means that he will finally meet his pen pal, Hunk Garret. The two had been connected by a buddy program for foreign Garrison applications and had hit it off right away.

And, for a few select foreign students, families are being brought over with them. Both Lance and Hunk’s families have been selected because of the skills of the two boys and so the McClains are moving to the USA for a new beginning. 

It seems that everything is going perfectly. 

Even though he‘s told that his eyes are beautiful, Keith Kogane hates his mismatched eyes. When he was younger, before his father died, he loved his eyes because his father and his father’s firefighter friends complimented them all the time and he felt special.

When his father was killed and he moved into the home, his eyes become a source of torment. everyone has less noticeable differences between the colours and keith can’t tell if they’re jealous or they hate anything that’s different. 

So, yes, Keith hates his own eye colour, a vibrant purple, and his soulmate’s, a deep blue that some say is the colour of the ocean. And so he begins growing his hair out to hide his eyes behind his bangs and wears sunglasses at every possible time. 

When Takashi Shirogane walks into his life and gives him a second chance, Keith knows that Shiro is fascinated by his eyes, but he’s smart enough to keep his mouth shut. T he difference between Shiro’s eye colour, a dark grey, and his soulmate’s brown is barely noticeable, and Keith can’t help but feel a little jealous of that. H e meets Shiro’s soulmate a few days later, who will be one of Keith’s instructors. the two are insufferable most of the time, but Adam accepts Keith into their group and doesn’t ask about his eyes either. 

And when he has his first day at the Garrison, he meets the one person he never thought he’d meet: a boy, loud, confident and beautiful with eyes to match Keith’s. N ot many are lucky enough to meet their soulmate. The world is huge and with that many people with only one who matches you, you would be lucky to even get a hint of that person (or people). Of course, not all soulmates are romantic. Some are platonic and there are even the rare few who’s soulmate is actually the least compatible person for them. 

Keith stares at this boy, who doesn’t even look at him or glance around the room. He’s too focused on the boy beside him, who has one brown eye and one yellow eye. Keith’s soulmate is excited, hands flailing around him as he speaks and the boy beside him seems entranced by the story. 

When Iverson comes into the room, both of them shut up and turn their eyes towards him. Keith nearly snorts; he’s heard from Adam and Shiro that Iverson is very hard on the students.  they’re taking attendance now and Keith can’t help but feel a little curious to know his soulmate’s name.  At the name Hunk Garret the boy his soulmate had been speaking to calls present. At the name James Griffin Keith can’t help but scowl. At his name he makes his presence known. At the name Lance McClain, his soulmate speaks up.

So this is his soulmate. Lance McClain. 

Keith makes sure to always have one eye covered and goes out of his way to avoid Lance McClain, who is well loved by most of the class. The guy is confident and loud and cracks jokes all the time. Instructors often grow frustrated with the kid who distracts the others from their lessons. Keith pays him no heed, and the few times Lance tries to speak to him Keith brushes him off.  I f any of the instructors have have put together that the two are soulmates, they haven’t said anything. Even Adam, who keeps sending Keith loaded looks, doesn’t right out say it to his face.  Keith is grateful for this. he doesn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to himself and finding his soulmate would make sure people never left him alone. He has no interest in that. 

And then, years later, Shiro leaves for Kerberos. He’s not stupid, he knows Shiro is sick and going is probably the last mission he’ll ever do. He knows Shiro and Adam have been fighting about it nonstop and he knows Adam has only stayed so long because Shiro is his soulmate.  But now, he knows that Adam has decided that he and Shiro are platonic soulmates, because he can’t keep putting himself through this. And Keith understands, because he too is angry at Shiro for going. Shiro gave Keith everything, and if he leaves, who will take care of him?  He knows Adam will make an effort, but he and Keith have never been as close as Shiro and Keith. But he also understands. Going to space, the farthest reaches humanity can go, is an interesting idea. So he hugs Shiro and promises to be good.

When the announcement comes that the Kerberos mission failed and the entire crew is dead, Keith doesn’t know what to do. He feels numb and doesn’t know how to react, especially when some of his instructors offer him condolences. 

So he does the only thing he knows how to do: he lashes out, and it costs him everything. 

Though Lance didn’t know Shiro personally, the loss devastates him. Shiro was his hero, everything he aspired to be. Though his dreams were crushed when he became a cargo pilot, everything seems even dimmer now. 

And then, good news: Keith Kogane, top fighter pilot, has been kicked out of the Garrison. Lance holds the top score out of all the cargo pilots, which means that he will be replacing Keith in the fighter pilot program. He will join Hunk, and that’s the best news he’s heard in months! 

But things don’t start out great: all of his instructors — save Professor West, who seems to like Lance — compare him to Keith Kogane.  It’s all “Keith Kogane this,” and “Keith Kogane that,” and Lance feels as though he’s just a backup, who will always live in Keith’s shadow.

Before this, Lance has always been impressed by Keith Kogane. Sure, the guy got angry a ton, but a lot of that was James Griffon’s fault. The kid couldn’t give Keith a break. Now Lance just feels frustration towards this prodigy who has been kicked out and is still outshining him.  Lance puts up a confident, egotistical front, but really he’s tried and insecure and just wants to be told he’s worth something. Be finds some solace in Hunk and Pidge, who are his team, but they’re both dealing with their own problems.  The real help comes from Professor West, who encourages Lance instead of putting him down. Lance learns that Professor West was Shiro’s fiancé and helped take care of Keith when Shiro took the boy under his wing. 

Lance does his best, but he feels that the odds are stacked against him. People call him dumb and stupid and he starts believing them. 

But then he meets his soulmate and everything changes. 

They’ve been in space for three months, and Lance has been trying to treat Keith normally. They could just be platonic soulmates. It seems that they aren’t worst enemies, because even though they bicker they don’t break out into fist fights.  Other paladins have found their soulmates: Pidge is asexual and aromantic and has found a platonic soulmate in Ryner. Hunk has found his soulmate in Shay. the Alteans seem to be the only other species with soulmates like humans; Coran’s soulmate eye is blue and green, and Allura’s is blue with a yellow sclera, much like Lance's sister Veronica's. 

Lance still feels dumb. Pidge and Hunk have become closer and bond over their brains, Shiro and Allura bond over strategy. Coran seems to like him and puts up with him, but Lance can’t help but feel alone in this huge castle without any of the usual bustling family in tight quarters.  He begins to practice with his rifle, because even though he doesn’t remember the day Sendak attacked he knows that maybe if he’d been a better shot he could have actually stopped Sendak for good.  He sometimes finds Keith or Shiro training and so he takes to the smaller training room Coran told him about in one of their many talks. It has a shooting range, which is all he really needs and so he can practice alone. 

Lance isn’t sure he’s pulling off being normal. Being around Keith and seeing his eyes reflected is a little scary and he can’t help but stare and then he’s distracted and then someone is nudging him or calling him back and it’s embarrassing.  Keith sometimes gets flustered around Lance, but it’s nowhere near as embarrassing. They avoid being in the same room as much as possible and Lance knows that the rest of the team is beginning to get frustrated with them. 

When they’re in battle, Lance and Keith work very well together. When they’re training, they work more or less together. When they’re just hanging around the castle is when the real problem begins.  Lance knows the others are worried that Lance and Keith aren’t the good soulmates. They could be enemies and that would be terrible for the team. But Lance suspects that he and Keith aren’t those soulmates — they’ve had bonding moments (including one Lance _defintely_ doesn’t remember), and they can get along just fine. They just know how to push each other’s buttons and Lance kind of enjoys the bickering from time to time. It reminds him of his siblings. 

Pidge once suggested that it’s their way of flirting, and Lance nearly had a heart attack. Hunk found it funny and he and Pidge laughed for a long time, but Lance just stared at her. It’s haunted him ever since, and at night he tosses and turns and wonders. Is it flirting? Are they maybe romantic soulmates? Does Keith like him more than he lets on?  Shiro keeps flicking a concerned gaze between the two whenever they disagree, but Lance thinks he’s overreacting a little. It’s not like they’ve broken into an all out fist fight. 

Some days, Lance thinks it’s impossible that Keith is destined to be his best friend or his partner. But then there are the days Keith is the only one on the castle who doesn’t treat Lance like a child who can’t understand a thing. He’ll talk things through with Lance, help him understand. The others brush him off, not bothering to even try to explain. and lance likes that. It makes him feel better, and it even makes something in his chest feel a little weird. 

But it’s nothing. they’re just friends. 

Keith _hates_ that Lance treats him like a rival turned friend. Ever since the bonding moment — that he _knows_ Lance remembers — his feelings have changed. Before Lance knew they were soulmates, Keith felt indifferent towards him. Okay, maybe that’s a lie, but it doesn’t change the fact that Keith mostly tried not to think about Lance’s existence. But now, after seeing Lance injured, feeling the injury through the soulmate bond, Keith has a new appreciation for Lance.  But Lance doesn’t seem to feel the same way. He hasn’t been avoiding Keith, exactly, but he hasn’t been seeking him out, either. Is that normal behaviour? 

He knows he could speak to Shiro, but Shiro would give him fatherly advice or terrible romantic tips — Keith remembers the horror stories Adam used to tell about Shiro’s romance attempts. Adam has always called Keith a disaster gay, and Keith is starting to understand that now. Why can’t this whole soulmate deal be more simple, with a note saying, “oh, this is your romantic soulmate,” and then no one has to go through this stress?  But no, Keith must figure out where he stands with Lance, and nothing is going to make this simple. But when has anything ever been simple for Keith Kogane? At least he’s in familiar territory, Keith supposes, if one can count deep space as familiar. 

And then, they meet Ulaz, and Keith’s world is turned upside down. The knife, the only clue he has to the rest of his family, belongs to a group of Galra. It can’t mean...?  He tries to ignore it and fails most nights and decides to throw himself into training. He often finds Shiro in the training room, and Keith knows it’s for the same reason as him: Shiro is avoiding the nightmares. Keith knows that Shiro’s PTSD from his time as a prisoner is bad, and he’s sure meeting Ulaz and then watching him die isn’t helpful towards his recovery.  They never say anything, don’t ask why the other is there: they know, and neither of them want to talk about it. They don’t talk about the bruises or the sweat or the occasional tears and breakdowns. 

Keith tries to treat Lance in the same way even as his romantic feelings grow. Lance is the same: loud, confident, egotistical and funny. But Keith notices something new; Lance only cracks a joke or makes a comment about how amazing he is when the situation needs defusing or when one of the other paladins is really down. Keith has always thought that Lance is actually egotistical, and it’s true he’s had some moments when he seems insecure or homesick, but it was just so fast and gone so quickly that no one said anything.  But now keith wonders. What is Lance hiding under his mask of jokes and self confidence? Then he notices the way Coran gives Lance concerned looks whenever he jokes or someone dismisses him without realizing it. Keith has noticed that Lance does spend quite a bit of time with Coran, and it’s no secret that Lance is Coran’s favourite. So maybe he’s wrong about Lance. maybe there’s more to Lance than he lets on. 

Keith starts studying Lance more closely. He realizes that Lance only flirts with Allura when she needs a distraction. He only gives finger guns and winks when the situation is tense. He starts bickering with Keith when he’s feeling down and suddenly Keith is even more in love.  And Keith doesn’t understand how someone can be so amazing. even though Lance doesn’t see it, he’s an amazing pilot, his aim has really improved. Keith knows that Hunk is the glue that holds the team together with his cooking and good nature, but he knows that Lance is relief that keeps them all sane and running. Pidge admits that Lance is the one who reminds her to sleep, and Lance is always ready to taste test Hunk’s newest recipe. 

And Keith is amazed by this boy who obviously doesn’t understand his own worth. 

Lance is so entranced by the colour of Keith’s eye. It’s so vibrant and so unlike any eye colour Lance has seen. He’s never seen it on any of the alien species they’ve met, and wherever they go both get compliments on the colours.  It’s strange, really. No one has ever seen either the blue or the purple, and they always think it’s a norm of the human race. Even the Olkari thought that Ryner’s eyes were a miracle and didn’t understand what it meant until Pidge arrived with her matching set. 

Lance saw the way Keith stared at Ulaz when he saw the blade. Lance has his suspicions, he’s noticed the new bags under Keith’s eyes. It seems the only ones sleeping well are Hunk and.... no, Coran’s been up a lot too. Maybe Allura?  So yes, to no one’s surprise, the war is taking a toll on those on the front lines. But there’s something different about Keith, and it has something to do with the Blade of Marmora. Lance has been keeping a closer eye on Keith than usual, though he thinks Keith’s noticed, if the annoyed looks are anything to go off of. Lance would say something, but it doesn’t feel like it’s his place, even if he is Keith’s soulmate. 

So even if Keith pulls farther and farther away from the team, Lance leaves him be. He understands that occasionally, you need to be alone to deal with your problems. And Lance lets him. 

When it is revealed that Keith is part Galra, Lance suddenly understands why Keith has been acting so strangely. The knife that’s his only connection to his past belongs to a race that has been terrorizing the rest of the universe for ten thousand years. And now Allura is acting all weird towards him. Lance is trying to treat him as normally as he can, because judging him for being a member of the race he’s had no contact with until the war just isn’t fair.  Keith doesn’t say anything to him, but Lance pretends not to notice the grateful looks Keith sends him him whenever he takes the attention away from Keith’s heritage. He tries to call Allura out on her bullshit, but she ignores him and he can’t help but feel frustrated: he cannot believe racism is a thing in space. SPACE.  Lance experienced racism when he first moved to the US and his accent didn’t match anyone else’s. He understands what Keith is going through but he can’t bring himself to talk to his soulmate. It’s just too weird, they haven’t talked one on one before and Lance isn’t ready to start. So he watches from afar, feeling guilty but feeling unable to come forward. 

Keith can’t stand the way Allura is treating him. All he’s done since he’s arrived is try to protect the universe from Zarkon and Haggar and now because he’s related to a race that he hasn’t had anything to do with until this stupid war he’s suddenly the bad guy. He doesn’t mind the way others are treating him. Hunk has just taken to teasing him, Pidge has been asking about his anatomy and if he feels different than other humans, Coran and Shiro have been treating him normally, and Lance... Lance has suddenly jumped to his side. He defends Keith and draws attention away from uncomfortable situations, and he’s tried to call out Allura on her strange decisions. 

And Keith appreciates his soulmate more than he ever has before and he’s not sure he likes it. Lance flirts with any alien he sees, and even though the others write it off as Lance being Lance, Keith notices that the aliens he’s picked are all in positions of power who end up ensuring that the planet joins the Voltron Coalition. The others somehow haven’t noticed, and it doesn’t seem that Lance expects them to. And that devastates Keith; because Lance has so much to offer the universe and no one except Keith and Coran seem to notice it. 

Keith can’t wait until this is all over and they’re back on Earth and he can go back to his shack in the desert and go back to hiding from civilization. He supposes that he’ll miss the other paladins, Allura and Coran. He’s not sure if they’ll miss him. 

And then, everything changes again when Shiro disappears, Keith becomes the Black Paladin, Lance becomes the Red Paladin and Allura becomes the Blue Paladin and now they have to figure out all of these new dynamics that we’re never supposed to happen. Keith tries to be the leader the others deserve; but he’s struggling. He’s always comparing himself to Shiro and he feels like he’s not good enough. Lance is the most helpful in this, having really stepped up as the right hand of Voltron, much more than Keith ever did when he was the Red Paladin. 

It's impressive. The two have never been able to get along except in the heat of battle, but they’ve started strategizing together and Lance does the talking when Allura can’t because Keith is terrible at diplomacy. It’s working, since no planets have refused to join the Coalition. The Empire hasn’t been as much of a threat, except for Lotor, who appears and vanishes on a whim. He seems to be apart yet part of the Empire, but’s it all very unclear. 

Lance is the same but different, and Keith is pretty sure is a good thing. His jokes and distractions are the same, but he’s more mature in battle and only questions Keith’s decisions when he has a  legitimate reason to. The others have noticed; the others flicker looks between the two constantly. Pidge and Hunk are always giggling whenever he and Lance are talking one on one and Lance always gives them a death glare. 

Allura, Coran and Lance spend a lot of time together, and Keith comes to realize that Lance has taken to practicing Altean customs with them to help them feel closer to Altea. And Keith finds this incredibly sweet, even if he would never say so out loud. He knows that Lance is probably the most homesick of the humans, so he must understand what Coran and Allura are going through. But they’re lucky, because from what they know, they aren’t the last humans in the universe, and they’re the only Alteans left, unless they count the evil witch (they don’t). 

And that’s when Keith realizes that he’s in love with Lance. 

Lance doesn’t like what’s happening with Keith. Don’t get him wrong, he likes that they’re able to work together and he likes that they’re starting to get along and not bicker and fight so often, but he doesn’t like the feelings that come with that. They’re weird, and awkward. And Lance is sure he likes girls, so he can’t be gay. So... what’s happening? 

He’s finally worked up the courage to talk to Keith about it when they travel to the other reality and meet Sven and other Slav. He sees the grief on Keith’s face and realizes that he can’t talk to Keith yet. Keith is obviously very bad at feelings, and with him struggling so much to let go of Shiro, Lance can’t add to that by saying, “hey, so I think your my romantic soulmate!” That would make him a terrible friend and soulmate And he doesn’t believe he’s that cruel. So he shuts his mouth. 

And then Shiro’s back, and the joy on Keith’s face is everything and Lance doesn’t understand what’s happening to him. He likes girls, but he also likes Keith. He wishes Professor West were there with him, because his soulmate is a boy and— wait. Professor West’s soulmate is Shiro. Who they just found again. Maybe, once he’s feeling better, Lance could ask for his advice. 

But when Shiro does recover, Lance is more preoccupied by their number of paladins. Shiro would most likely take Black back, Keith would take Red, but Lance couldn’t bear the thought of taking Blue away from Allura. And because Keith is now the head of Voltron, Lance foes to consult him. Keith assures him that everything will work itself out because the Lions would know what’s best. 

That both assures and discourages Lance, because it means that it will probably be Red realizing he’s not good enough or Blue kicking Allura out, and neither of those options are good. But he decides to listen to Keith and let the Lions figure it out. It's better than them having to do it. 

You know, when Lance went to Keith for assurance, he didn’t expect Keith to just... run away. 

But that’s what he’s done. He pulled away from them, became involved with the Blade of Marmora, and claimed it was so that Shiro could connect to the Black Lion again. After telling Lance to just let the Lions handle it, Lance feels a little hurt. The worst part is that when Keith announces he’s leaving, Lance isn’t even angry. Okay, he’s a little angry. But he’s mostly upset that he’s going to have to be on the ship without Keith.

He loves Hunk and Pidge, he does, but he can’t always stand in when they start babbling about things he doesn’t understand. Shiro’s been weird since he got back, and Lance doesn’t know what to do about it. Allura’s always busy being a princess and a diplomat with Shiro, and so Lance spends most of his time with Coran, helping around the Castle. He’s learned a lot about Altea and Coran’s life because the man tends to ramble while he’s working. Lance doesn’t mind. He pretends not to notice that Coran dances around the subject of his soulmate, and Lance knows that Coran’s soulmate must have been Altean, judging by his eye, and so they must have died when Altea was destroyed. 

When Coran stops, Lance tells him stories of Cuba, of running around with his siblings and getting into trouble. He tells him about moving to America when he was expected to the Garrison. Coran listens and admits that one day he’d like to see where Lance grew up, and Lance promises to take him there once everything has settled down. 

He desperately misses his family and Earth, but he’s pushing through because the universe needs them and he can’t just leave. 

Not like Keith did. 

Keith misses the others desperately. He doesn’t mind the other members of the Blade, but it’s not the same as being on the Castle and training with the others. He misses the late nights in someone’s room (usually Allura’s) and just talking about anything. 

He’s not super social and the others aren’t sure how to approach him; he’s a former Paladin of Voltron and he looks nothing like any of the Galra, except for his own eye. And of course there’s the whole soulmate thing.

And then he’s sent out, and he meets Krolia, and then they’re on the space whale and the memories that pop up are strange and sometimes don’t make sense. 

He catches glimpses of Krolia’s past: how she arrived on Earth, how she came to join the Blades. He sees his own past: growing up in the middle of nowhere with just his father and his father's friends, his time at the home, meeting Shiro, finding the Blue Lion, forming Voltron. 

Krolia wasn’t his father’s soulmate, but she seems to understand how it works. Lance also makes a frequent appearance, though not all the settings look familiar. There’s an older looking Lance, smiling softly at someone Keith can’t see. There’s a Lance holding a small child. A Lance in his paladin armour, surrounded by his family.

The two years on the whale open Keith’s eyes to a lot of things he hasn't thought about before. He knows that the others are angry at him for leaving, but he didn’t know how else to deal with it. He couldn’t let Lance take the fall, it would be too devastating to see all the confidence he’d finally built up as a Paladin, and so leaving felt like the better option. 

And then they find the colony and hear Romelle’s story, how her brother was her soulmate and Lotor killed him. Keith feels terrible because he left the others alone with Lotor to disappear for this mission. And that makes him angry. Lotor will not threaten the family that he’s found and he does not get to take them away from him. 

Emerging from the quintessence field and leaving Lotor behind feels strange. After having to fight Shiro — even if it wasn’t actually him — Keith’s a little numb. 

And then Allura brings Shiro back and then Shiro almost dies again and then he’s back. A little weaker, and with one arm, but he’s back. And it’s nice. 

Keith pretends not to notice that Lance is being weird. He assumes that he’s angry that Keith left, and Keith doesn’t blame him so he says nothing. Lance has a right to process being angry and figure what’s going on in his own time; and they’re going back to Earth, which means that he’s going to see his family again, and Keith knows that he must be thrilled. So he leaves Lance be. 

Lance has been panicking for months. What are these feelings for Keith? He's liked girls before, which means there's no way he's gay. So what's going on? He's glad he never approached Shiro before today, because apparently it was a clone, which... made sense at times, when Shiro was being really snappy. But Shiro's back now, so that must mean that he can approach him and ask him for help. Shiro is Professor West's soulmate, which means that he likes boys and can understand what's happening. 

So before the Lions set off for Earth, Lance approaches Shiro, and once they're alone Lance spills all that's he's been feeling. Shiro's calm and cool as he explains that there isn't only straight and gay. Maybe Lance is bisexual, which means that he might be attracted to both men and women. This opens Lance’s eyes and suddenly everything makes sense. 

He can’t believe he’s never thought of this being a thing, but he must have been so focused on his problems and feelings that he just... forgot. So he's bi, and he can safely say that he's in love with Keith and has been for a while, and so now what? They're returning to Earth, and since they're all going to be in their separate Lions, it's not like he can just pull Keith aside whenever he feels like it. It'll be a while before they're able to be alone and really talk about the whole soulmate thing. Yeah, that's not going to be fun. 

Lance can't help but stare after Keith for long moments. He just left... again. This time to go after one of Lotor's generals, who's tried to kill them multiple times and who he barely knows. But he's going after her. And it hurts. He understands that Keith feels an obligation towards her, but he doesn't understand why he feels it. Sure, she's helping them escape, but she's just making up for all those times she tried to _kill them_. Lance is feeling a lot of things, but mostly anger and hurt. He's going after someone who tried to _kill them._ And... he's leaving. Again. He doesn't seem to realize the weight of what he's doing, so Lance swallows and focuses on getting the others out of there. Because he actually _cares_ about the others and wouldn't just _leave_ them on a whim, not even once. 

Everyone manages to get out (no thanks to Keith), but there's another surprise waiting for Lance when they get back: Acxa is his sister's soulmate. They ask him if he's sure, but he would know those eyes anywhere: he's stared at a mirrored version of them his entire life and then he glares at Shiro who should've known Veronica, considering that they're the same age. Shiro sheepishly admits that his memory is a little wonky, and Lance waves him off. They plan on staying on the planet for a while, and Lance figures now is a good time as any to talk to Keith. 

Keith's sitting beside Axca, but Lance yanks him away without saying anything, ignoring Keith's protests. The others didn't say anything, not even Acxa, who wouldn't understand what's happening. Lance doesn't really care. He and Keith have a lot to talk about, and now might be the only time they're able to do it. 

"What the hell, Lance?" Keith says. 

"We need to talk. Alone. About this," Lance says, gesturing at his eyes. "You're not getting out of this again." 

Keith's eyes widen a bit. Lance crosses his arm. They are definitely talking about this. Keith is not going to worm his way out of this one. Keith studies him for a moment, and Lance stares right back. And then Keith does the last thing Lance expected him to: he kisses him, full on the mouth. For a moment, Lance is frozen, and Keith seems to realize what he's done as he stops moving as well. Then Lance closes his eyes and kisses Keith, and Keith's moving, and they're kissing, and it's everything that Lance has been dreaming for months, for years. Maybe not with Keith, but he's dreamed of finding this with his soulmate for as long he's understood what a soulmate is. 

And when Keith pulls away, Lance is feeling giddy and he feels so free. Keith puts his forehead against Lance's and they stand there for a long while. Lance bites his lip. It seems they're in agreement: they're romantic soulmates, and they're doing this. Together. 

And then they're home, and Lance is surrounded by his family, who are astonished that he's finally found his soulmate, and that it's Keith, who Lance used to complain about all the time. Before the briefing with the Garrison officials, Lance tells Veronica that he met her soulmate. She's shocked; Lance is sure she never expected to meet her soulmate, given the strangeness of her her eye. He's a little quiet as he tells her that she's Galra, but that she helped them escape captivity and is one of the reasons he's standing in front of her today (he doesn't mention that she's _also_ the reason he almost wasn't standing here today). He also admits that Keith is half Galra, and he's turned out just fine. To be fair, Keith wasn't raised by the Galra, but he asks Veronica to give Acxa a chance if she ever meets her. Veronica promises. 

Before the IGF Atlas leaves for space, Lance has Keith officially meet his family and have dinner with them. He would've done it sooner, but with rebuilding Earth and doing diplomatic missions for the Garrison and Allura, it's been a crazy few months and they haven't had long enough to just sit and eat with their families. Or they have, but Lance's mother has been fussy and refuses to have Keith over unless he's in prime condition. Not to mention Axca arrived on Earth a few days before hand and Lance had asked if they could wait for her so that Veronica could meet her in a safe zone where she was comfortable. Lance knows it'll be a little awkward, but he's too excited to care. Keith and his family. Eating together. It's everything he's ever dreamed of. And right before he blasts off into space beside his best friends, his soulmate and his hero. It's perfect. 

When Honerva is beaten, and the paladins can return to Earth, Lance and Keith move in together. It's nice, to just be them. They still have things to do, Keith helping to rebuild a new Daibazaal and a better future for the Galra. Lance going on diplomatic missions with Allura and Coran to help spread a message of peace, and given that he's the Right Hand of Voltron, people tend to find him impressive. But still, it's not constant battles as it was when they first formed Voltron and the Coalition, which has spread so far beyond Voltron and anywhere Lance thought he'd ever go. It's incredible and everything he ever could've asked for. 

On the fifth year anniversary of Honerva's defeat, Keith proposes to Lance, who says yes. Which means that they're getting married. Keith can't believe that they went from Lance and Keith, neck and neck, to Lance and Keith, Red and Black Paladins, engaged, soulmates. He thought he'd stay in the desert alone, forever, but the other Paladins and the Alteans (and Adam) wormed their way into his life and now he's never alone. And he loves it, no matter how much he would've hated it all those years ago. It's everything. 

Keith and Lance adopt three children: the first, a Galra girl named Krali, the daughter of a Blade of Marmora and who leads the Blade when Keith retires. The second is a human girl they name Elena, who is chosen to be the Red Paladin Lance steps down, the third an Altean boy named Elan who goes on to become the best known explorer of the universe. 

Lance McClain and Keith Kogane started as two boys with gorgeous eyes known for their beauty and became two of the most famous people in the known universe, heroes and parents, names that live on for generations. And considering that they started out as Lance and Keith, neck in neck, it's a pretty good legacy. 

**Author's Note:**

> so there it is. i hope u enjoyed it, i worked pretty hard. so this is the second instalment of the Eye of the Soul series, and i hope it lived up to adashi's. i hope it doesnt set the bar higher, i dont think i can top either of these rip me.   
> ok so the next one that's coming is hunay, and that might take a while. these two came out very close together because i started writing around the same time. i've JUST started writing hunay's, so ya it might take a while. pidge and ryner will be next (their's will probably be on the short side cause its not falling in love and ANGST so ya) and then allura and lotor (notice the tags and how lotor does turn out evil and how a certain someone's soulmate is ALSO dead... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)) and then we'll think about the bonuses.   
> SO for coran's soulmate it means i have to create an entire character who i will then need to kill off (because there's no way they would've survived 10000 years). im gonna need help with them, so if u would like to send me suggestions (pls send me suggestions) u can talk to me here OR u can talk to me as @love-loulou on tumblr, where i will be more likely to see ur message.   
> uhhh i think thats all???? (why dont i plan these out ahead of time??????)   
> thx for reading :)   
> xoxo,   
> loulou


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